LEGO designers talk forging Ideas 21325 Medieval Blacksmith

The talented minds behind 21325 Medieval Blacksmith have discussed how they brought the latest LEGO Ideas set to life in a new designer video.

LEGO designers Wes Talbott and Austin Carlson worked together on turning Clemens Fiedler’s original design into an official set, which is due to arrive in LEGO Stores and at LEGO.com on February 1 – almost a year to the day since it first passed the Ideas review.

We’ve covered almost everything you need to know about 21325 Medieval Blacksmith, including the full details of its release, an extensive image gallery, a closer look at its minifigures, and the story behind its historic knights. Now, Wes and Austin have filled in the gaps ahead of our in-depth review (which lands online tomorrow!) in a detailed designer video.

“When I saw this project come up on LEGO Ideas, I really wanted to be the one working on it,” Wes explains. “I’m very interested in medieval architecture in general, and I’ve actually done a few blacksmith sets myself in my spare time, so it’s kind of cool that Clemens’ wish to have this blacksmith set is reflecting my own wish as well.”

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He wasn’t the only one who had already laid the groundwork for 21325 Medieval Blacksmith, either (however inadvertently). “I already had a collection of knights that I’ve already worked [on] as a fan, so I had designs ready to go,” Austin says. “Wes was already building right away on this, so we had so much energy pumped into this model, and right when it got accepted we jumped straight at it.”

Austin also explains how Clemens was involved with some of the finer design points of the set, including the blacksmith’s logo, which has mountain artwork to reflect the fan builder’s love of travelling. That hobby is further reflected in the treasure chest in the set’s top floor, which contains a backpack and compass.

Perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of 21325 Medieval Blacksmith – at least for fans of a certain vintage – is how it calls back to a range of Classic Castle sets from the ’80s. As it turns out, you have Austin to thank for that nod to the original Black Falcons.

“I went back and looked at old, original designs from the era and tried to bring it up a little bit closer to that detailing,” he says. “We were [also] able to do a few new colour changes for the armour to really add that extra level of detail for them.”

Check out the full designer video above to learn more about 21325 Medieval Blacksmith ahead of its launch on February 1. The LEGO Group has also released a brilliant stop-motion film to promote the 33rd Ideas model, which you can find here.

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Author Profile

Chris Wharfe
I like to think of myself as a journalist first, LEGO fan second, but we all know that’s not really the case. Journalism does run through my veins, though, like some kind of weird literary blood – the sort that will no doubt one day lead to a stress-induced heart malfunction. It’s like smoking, only worse. Thankfully, I get to write about LEGO until then.

Chris Wharfe

I like to think of myself as a journalist first, LEGO fan second, but we all know that’s not really the case. Journalism does run through my veins, though, like some kind of weird literary blood – the sort that will no doubt one day lead to a stress-induced heart malfunction. It’s like smoking, only worse. Thankfully, I get to write about LEGO until then.

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